The Italian highway authorities have installed cameras and sensors on major roads that clock your average driving speed, read your license plate, and automatically give you a hefty fine via computer. Tourists driving in Italy should be aware that Italian road fines can really drive up the cost of a vacation there.
With the new automated system for capturing speeders, anyone caught by these high-tech camera cops can get a large number of fines issues in a short time indeed. Two main parts of the coastal A1 highway are very popular with tourists and cameras alike: Between Chiusi and Florence in the Chianti area and the section between the Amalfi Coast and Naples. As you'll get a fine each time you set off the sensors, a speedy driver can rack up six speeding fines on a jaunt between Tuscany and Naples.
Tourists that rent cars in Italy have seen charges come up on their credit cards months after their vacation. This is because the speeding fines are levied on the car rental company and then charged to the customer. The rental company will also add a 30 Euro processing fee on top of the fine. The fines are also quite steep: 97 Euros on a highway and 83 Euros within a historic district.
This system has the upside of reducing the number of road deaths in Italy as drivers have slowed down (a little).
It also means the Italian Carabinieri constables have been taken out of issuing speeding fines. In the good old days, drivers of fast cars like Ferraris could often get away with some pretty hair-raising driving. The police officers would simply wave them on as they assumed the driver knew what he was doing - or maybe just because they liked the car!
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